Indonesia Targets Illegal Mining Across 4.27 Million Hectares of Forest as Land Rights Concerns Grow

A September 1 Campaign With Millions of Hectares at Stake

Indonesia will begin targeting mines operating without proper permits across approximately 4.27 million hectares of forest on September 1, 2025. The area is larger than Switzerland. A task force bringing together military personnel, police, prosecutors and civil servants will lead the operation, extending a campaign that targeted illegal palm oil plantations earlier this year.

President Prabowo Subianto has made reclaiming control over natural resources a central aim of his administration. The government says the campaign will protect forests, recover public revenue and ensure that the country's mineral and agricultural wealth benefits the nation. Its reach, however, has already prompted disputes over who loses land, who faces penalties and what happens to seized operations.

Government estimates put the annual cost of illegal mining at up to 300 trillion rupiah, about $19 billion, through lost taxes, royalties and unregulated extraction. Royalties are payments that mining operators make to the state for extracting its resources. When extraction takes place outside the rules, the government can lose both those payments and the ability to supervise environmental damage.

Indigenous communities, smallholder farmers and environmental organisations warn that enforcement against unlawful businesses can also threaten people who have lived and farmed in forest areas for generations. Some seized plantations are being transferred to a state company, raising another practical issue: recovering land for the state and restoring it to forest are different actions.

As of August 28, the mining operation is still scheduled to begin. The earlier plantation campaign provides a picture of the government's methods and the disputes now surrounding their expansion into mining.

Why Forests and Public Revenue Are Central

Indonesia is the world's largest producer and exporter of palm oil and a major supplier of thermal coal, nickel, tin and copper. These industries generate billions of dollars in export revenue and support millions of jobs. The country also has some of the world's richest natural resources and largest tropical forests.

Decades of weak regulation, corruption and disputes over land ownership have allowed illegal mining and plantations to spread. Land tenure disputes concern who has the right to own, occupy or use an area. They can become especially difficult where communities have longstanding customary claims but the government classifies the same land as forest under state control.

Illegal operations drive deforestation, pollute rivers, destroy habitats and contribute to climate change. More than 3 million hectares of forest have been converted to palm oil plantations without proper permits, undermining Indonesia's climate commitments and drawing international criticism.

Prabowo took office promising to restore order and increase the national benefit from natural resources. In his first state of the nation address, he pledged to eliminate more than 1,000 illegal mining sites and reclaim millions of hectares of forest from unlawful exploitation.

The government's financial and environmental goals are closely connected. Bringing operations under regulation would allow authorities to collect revenue while imposing rules on how resources are extracted. For people living nearby, the practical stakes include water quality, access to farmland and whether damaged landscapes are repaired.

How the Task Force Will Take Control

A presidential regulation established the task force, combining the military, police and prosecutors with officials from the ministries of forestry, energy and state owned enterprises. Its mandate is to identify, seize and manage illegal mining and plantation operations through legal and administrative measures and, when necessary, military means.

Mines and plantations found to be operating illegally are seized and handed to the Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises for temporary management. In the palm oil campaign, much of the reclaimed land has been transferred to Agrinas Palma Nusantara, a new state company.

Owners of illegal operations are ordered to return profits to the state. Some cases do not result in criminal prosecution, but officials intend the financial penalties to recover lost revenue and discourage further violations. This approach combines taking control of land or businesses with seeking repayment from their operators.

Military personnel are participating because officials say entrenched interests may resist enforcement and because illegal activities cover such a large area. Satellite imagery and drones are also being used to identify unlawful operations and monitor whether operators comply with the rules.

The government is streamlining permits, strengthening penalties and aligning regulations with international standards to close loopholes and improve transparency. Permits determine whether an operation has legal permission to work in a particular place and under specified conditions. Clearer permit rules could make it easier to identify violations, although disputes over community land rights remain central to the campaign.

The Sequence and the Minerals Involved

The mining operation follows both the plantation campaign and a recent enforcement action in Central Sulawesi. Authorities there shut down illegal gold mining in a protected forest, seized heavy equipment and arrested suspects. Environmental damage linked to deadly floods prompted the operation, illustrating the risks authorities are seeking to address.

The main stages of the campaign are:

• Earlier in 2025, the government began an operation against illegal palm oil plantations, with much of the reclaimed land transferred to Agrinas Palma Nusantara.
• In his first state of the nation address, Prabowo pledged to eliminate more than 1,000 illegal mining sites and reclaim millions of hectares of forest.
• As of August 28, 2025, preparations were under way for the wider mining campaign.
• On September 1, 2025, the task force is scheduled to begin targeting mines without proper permits across approximately 4.27 million hectares of forest.

The government has not specified every mineral that the operation will target. Indonesia's illegal mining sector is known to involve nickel, coal, tin, copper and gold. Nickel is essential for batteries and electric vehicles, and Indonesia holds the world's largest nickel reserves. Coal is a major export commodity, although its environmental impact is increasingly controversial.

Tin, copper and gold are used in electronics, construction and jewellery. Palm oil is an agricultural commodity rather than a mineral, but illegal plantations are part of the same broader effort to regain control of forest land. The campaign therefore reaches across industries with different products, workers and environmental effects.

Community Land Becomes a Point of Conflict

Indigenous peoples and smallholder farmers are among those most exposed to the plantation seizures. Civil society groups and environmental organisations warn that enforcement often fails to distinguish large corporate violations from activities that local people depend on for food and income.

In Aceh province, the task force seized 15,000 hectares of land, much of it cultivated by local communities growing crops such as durian and candlenut. Activists say smallholders and indigenous groups face eviction and the loss of their livelihoods while major companies operating in the same areas have largely escaped enforcement.

Some communities have been offered arrangements to share profits with state companies. Activists describe these arrangements as exploitative and say they lack due process. Due process means people have fair procedures through which they can understand an official decision, challenge it and defend their rights before losing land or income.

Afifuddin Acal, head of advocacy at the Aceh chapter of Walhi, Indonesia's largest environmental NGO, said the regulation treats community activities and corporate operations alike:

The regulation makes no distinction between corporate and community activities, leading to displacement of indigenous and local communities while shielding large corporations,

In West Kalimantan and Riau, customary lands have been seized without compensation, and thousands of families have been displaced. School closures and threats to children's education have also been reported. For affected families, the consequences extend beyond losing a crop or a plot of land to the disruption of daily life and schooling.

Critics argue that the regulation criminalises traditional land use and deepens land inequality. They say moving control from private monopolies to state enterprises leaves underlying injustices unresolved when community claims remain unrecognised.

Corporate Accountability and Uneven Enforcement

Activists describe a pattern in which powerful companies with political connections avoid penalties while smaller operators and communities face the strongest pressure. Their concern is that the scale of land recovery can obscure differences in how authorities treat those responsible for violations.

Critics say no companies have been criminally prosecuted for illegal plantations since 2020 despite widespread violations. The prominent investigation into palm oil tycoon Surya Darmadi illustrates the difficulties surrounding efforts to hold corporate offenders accountable in cases involving corruption.

Transparency International and other watchdogs have called for greater openness about enforcement actions. They want safeguards against the regulation becoming a means of repression or allowing corporations to escape responsibility. Their warnings focus on the absence of clear guidelines and protections, which they say could undermine democracy and environmental justice.

The government's use of financial recovery alongside seizures makes these concerns especially relevant. Returning profits, transferring an operation to state management and pursuing a criminal case are different forms of accountability. Communities and watchdogs want clarity about which measures are applied, to whom and under what rules.

The Government's Constitutional Argument

Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Bahlil Lahadalia says the campaign is grounded in Article 33 of Indonesia's 1945 Constitution, which requires natural resources to be managed for the people's prosperity. He argues that bringing illegal mining under regulation is necessary to protect the environment and secure state revenue.

Bahlil says the mining sector contributes about 15 percent of Indonesia's state income. That figure helps explain why the government presents mining enforcement as a public finance issue as well as an environmental one: lost payments from extraction affect the money available to the state.

Explaining the purpose of firm action against illegal mining, Bahlil said:

The aim is to protect the environment while ensuring that the state secures revenue,

Prabowo has convened cabinet meetings on improving governance and permits for strategic commodities, including rare earth minerals used in advanced technology industries. He has pledged that political elites and state officials will receive no protection from law enforcement.

The government is also working on legal frameworks, simpler permitting and community monitoring programmes intended to support sustainable practices. Supporters argue that enforcement will create fairer conditions for operators that follow the rules and help attract investment.

Supporters also connect the campaign to Indonesia's plans for downstream industries, including battery manufacturing and refined metals. Downstream production means processing raw resources into products with greater value, rather than earning money mainly by selling the raw material.

Military Enforcement and Indigenous Rights

Military participation in civilian enforcement has renewed debate about Indonesia's democratic direction and respect for human rights. The regulation revives the military's "dual function" in civilian affairs, a practice that was supposed to have ended with the fall of the authoritarian regime more than two decades ago.

Human rights groups warn that using military personnel increases the risk of abuses, particularly in regions with histories of land conflict such as Papua. Their concerns include forced evictions, criminalisation of indigenous land use and suppression of dissent.

Critics argue that treating forests as national security assets rather than community resources weakens democracy and environmental stewardship. Their argument centres on who participates in decisions about land and whether residents can contest enforcement without fear.

Difa Shafira, head of forestry and land governance at the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law, called for communities to have a stronger role in protecting forests:

Communities living in and around forests are the true protectors and should be empowered, not displaced,

Activists are calling for a new forestry law that recognises indigenous land rights, requires ecological restoration and closes loopholes that allow corporate violators to avoid accountability. They argue that a comprehensive legal overhaul is needed to make forest governance both effective and fair.

What Changes for Markets, Workers and Forests?

Indonesia's position as a major supplier means enforcement could affect markets beyond its borders, particularly for nickel, coal and palm oil. Disrupting illegal supply chains could reduce supplies, create price volatility and lead international buyers to seek other sources. Global markets are watching the campaign closely.

The government hopes stronger regulation will increase public revenue, attract responsible investment and improve environmental outcomes. Better governance and sustainability standards could also improve Indonesia's standing with international partners and investors. These are expected benefits of the campaign, while its immediate effects will depend on which operations are closed or transferred.

Local economies dependent on informal mining and plantation work face a potentially painful transition. A seized operation can affect workers and nearby businesses as well as its owner. For smallholders already caught in land disputes, enforcement can remove an income source before questions about their rights are settled.

Environmentalists welcome attention to reforestation and stricter permits but say lasting protection also requires respect for community rights and the repair of degraded land. Ecological restoration means helping damaged land recover its environmental functions, rather than simply changing who manages it.

The government plans to reforest part of the seized land. How much will be restored, and how much will remain in state managed plantations or be used for other purposes, is uncertain. That decision will shape the campaign's effect on forest cover as well as on the people who depend on the land.

The September 1 launch will extend an already contested approach into mining. Its stated goals combine resource control, public revenue and environmental protection. The disputes surrounding plantation seizures show why community rights, corporate accountability and the future use of recovered land are central to judging what the campaign changes.

Key Points

• Indonesia plans to begin targeting illegal mines across approximately 4.27 million hectares of forest on September 1, 2025.
• The government estimates that illegal mining costs up to 300 trillion rupiah, about $19 billion, annually.
• A task force involving military personnel, police, prosecutors and civilian officials will seize operations and seek repayment of profits.
• Much of the land reclaimed in the earlier palm oil campaign has gone to Agrinas Palma Nusantara, a new state company.
• Activists warn that indigenous communities and smallholders face displacement while powerful corporate operators escape penalties.
• Officials cite Article 33 of the Constitution and promise enforcement without protection for political elites or state officials.
• The campaign could disrupt commodity supplies and local livelihoods. The amount of seized land that will be restored to forest is uncertain.